A site tracing the Catholic life and history of the Ancient Kingdom of Gwent, now known as Monmouthshire,UK from Silurian times. Linked to Mary in Monmouth download free from iTunes Store or RSS feed at end of this blog.Also MaryinMonmouth Group of Face book. Photographs of interesting places. Some Catechesis.Strength of site is in tracing obscure Gwentian saints and martyrs and digging out gems from forgotten sites.Some photographs by Chris Tottle are copyright. Sites in Welsh Marches.

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ST DAVID's CANONISATION 1120AD

WALES WIDE PILGRIMAGE IN 2020 to celebrate a thousand years since his canonisation!-using old pilgrim routes!!!

Come to the Waters....

Whoever drinks the water I will give him will never thirst, indeed the water I give him, will become in him a spring of water, welling up to Eternal Life....John 4:14

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Ancient Cwmbran and the Cistercians

St Derfel, Patron Saint of Cwmbran

Followers

St Michael as a Centaur, fighting on the side of Peter and the Church

Liam Neeson played this int he film

PODCAST IMMINENT OF THE VISIT OF THE RELICS TO CARDIFF

I took recordings of the various Masses and liturgies in the Church as the relics were being received in Cardiff on Tueday and have only lightly edited them. I was doubly glad so many people, who were not able to get in and hear the service of reception and so forth will have the possibility of listening to the Masses for Priests and Vocations, Evangelisation, and personal sanctity, Angelus, Rosary , Litany and Benediction. It was extremely crowded, but I think it captures all the excitement of that day when thousands descended on Cardiff, clapped the little saint for her Christian witness and brought her candles, red roses and many other flowers, incense and beautiful music at the evening Mass.People streamed in until the Cathedral closed at Midnight, and devotions continued all evening, with people praying for conversion of sinners, confessions, praying for priests and praying that all would accept Jesus as their personal friend and Saviour. A Mediaeval style day none will forget. And Bravo to the superb organist!

Dominicans Today buiding a new Friary in US

Procession of Friars

PODCASTS RESUMING SOON AFTER COMPUTER PROBLEMS

I am resuming podcasting later this week or next, because I hade two computer crashes and have had little time to find all the things I need to resume it. I apologise to all the fans of the podcast and all the emails.You can download them from the rss address on this blog, or even via iTunes. Many people like listening on long car journeys! There are some interesting topics coming up.So keep posted.

Dominican Friars

At Chapter

SANCTUS ILTUTUS

St Illtyd , the great Educator

St Ia sculpted by Oberammergau Sculptor

In the Catholic Church. St Ives

Spring in St Ives

The time in Bredon is

Listen free Online to the new podcast!My Pilgrimage to St Winifride's Well

Title Page of the Idylls of the King

Looking for a Quiet Peaceful holiday in a beautiful area of France?

Directions to Capel y FFin

Main road from Abergavenny to Hereford, (or Hereford to Abergavenny if coming the other way!!)Turn off to Llanvihangel Crucorney. Pass Skirrid Inn.Turn LEFT to Llanthony Priory and stay on that road, past priory and up the mountain until you come to Capel y Ffin. Turn Left to monastery, but monastery is in private hands and so you must ask permission to view. On pilgrimage days parking in designated field kindness of Mr and MRs Watkins.

St Illtyd at Gorslas, Camarthen

The Ancient Yew Tree of Mamhilad

DO YOU KNOW WHY BISHOPS WEAR POINTY HATS CALLED MITRES?

Because they represent the flames which came upon the Apostles when Jesus met them to give them these gifts and the organisation of his Church. There was a great Wind and flames of fire, and we are told they settled on the Heads of the Apostles. When the Apostles appointed their successors, the Bishops they received this headwear to remind them they are the descendents of the Apostles of Christ himself, who founded his church on the rock of Peter.

Link to Mary in Monmouth Blog at Libsyn and Show notes

Early British Kingdoms and Saints .

Benedictine Abbey of Bec in Normandy

Monks from here built the Priory of St Mary Magdalene in Goldcliff. The local church is still dedicated to this saint. The Church was built there after the Tsunami of 1607 which destroyed what was left of the Priory.

Truth about Relics

Relics have often been a stumbling block for people trying to understand the church. It is no different than keeping a special photo, item or clothing etc from a loved one when they have passed on. Kissing a picture or reverencing it, lighting a candle next to it or putting a poppy by it on remembrance day, just brings them alive again to you, shows them honour and respect. In the case of relics, if you can ask a living person to pray for you, then we can ask the souls who have made it to heaven to pray for us too, Having a small item which has actually touched their body or even a part of that body brings them especially close to them. The Holy Spirit has completely infused their body, So you ask this person to add their prayers to yours up above, and sometimes there are miracles as a result, although it is the prayer to Almighty God that works the miracle if there is to be one and it is his Will.

Apostles and Martyrs

Bernadette and Our Lady

Our Lady of Lourdes in Tredegar!

Saint Tewdrig /King Theoderick

An Internet bereavement Commemoration

Head of Our Lady from a fresco in the Gunter House, Abergavenny

Secret Masses were said here in times of Persecution 17th century

Hello! The first ten pictures

The first ten pictures are from Llandaff Cathedral or Abbey Church of Our Lady and St Teilo, Then there are some from Mathern Church. Please download the Internet podcast Mary in Monmouth to hear the programmes at maryinmonmouth free from iTunes. This programme is FREE as well. So just type the title Maryinmonmouth into the Store Window and you will find it then subscribe! Automatic after that!Big pictures and feeds and links are at the VERY BOTTOM of the blog! Sorry! Mary

About Me

Evelyn Nicholson is a professional singer who has sung with all the major opera companies as principal soprano.Evelyn has begun her blog influenced by her father's love of the ancient Kingdom of Gwent and to foster a defence of misconceptions about the Catholic Faith.She is a qualified catechist of the Catholic Faith.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Earlier this year, in February and March, I posted a number of entries abou St Teilo, and of course there was also a podcast programme, not just about the life of the early saint, but also about the relic of St Teilo's Skull. St Teilo was, of course one time Bishop of Llandaff, taking over from St Dyfrig/ Bubricius and the relic of his skull can be read in the January or February blogs. In addition, I did a soundseeing tour around Llandaff Cathedral.the skull having had an interesting story all of its own in its trip around the world!

Last Friday, I visited the ancient Church at Llantilio Crossenny.St Teilo is linked inextricably with Gwent. He seems to have had a close association with Llanarth, by climbing the Skyrrid and invoking, with all his monks the strength of Almighty God with St Michael to protect the Monastery from the Saxons (The Skyrrid or 'Holy Mountain' being Englished to 'St Michael;s Mount.

We have his close attachment to King Meurig, son of King (St)Tewdrig who established and funded Llandaff and, incidentally, saw to it for hundreds of years in the future that the then=pagan Saxons did not penetrate the Forest of Dean and Wychavon into Wales. Meurig was named after the Martyr St Maurice and Tewdrig is the welsh version of Theoderick the Bishop of the ancient church.So there is also the link with Mathern, near Chepstow, where Tewdrig died. These stories are all told from the Book of Llandaff (Liber Landaviensis) on the Mary in Monmouth podcasts. There is even an account of the consecration of Llandaff Cathedral, with Teilo and his nephew Oudocceus or 'Docco' after which monasteries were named at Llandogo near Tintern and in Cornwall.

Llantilio Crossenny is fairly near (South West of Monmouth) and I remember it well from its summer festival and its concert at Christmas. My first singing teacher lived in the village at Treadam and I was called upon as a girl singer to sing there a few times, in the days where the composer Mansel Thomas played the cello. It was afterwards at the Christmas concert we all gathered in the local hostelry with a lemonade and sat by the log fire, exhilerated by the occasion and performances.It was strange to make the pilgrimage back after thirty years, and my child remembrances actually had played me false. It was a much larger and more ancient church than I remembered.

The other mention of Llantilio was in Hansard for 1679. The then vicar of Llantilio is mentioned as having testified that only forty people attended his church, most of his flocl disappearing to the Gunter House in Abergavenny and its secret attic chapel and entrance, with the 'mark of the Jesuits' (oh dear!)on the wall. This was Vicar Greenhaigh at the trial of the most blessed Martyr, Father St David Lewis , the Father of the Poor, loved by Catholic and Protestant and hung for being a priest by a grieving population. This was all in the tide of the Titus Oates hoax and the fear of the landed gentry of having their property newly aquired from the church reposessed, if ever the Catholic Church recovered from persecution. When we reach that persecution segment in our county's history, I hope to publish more about it then, but just now wish to return to Teilo because of the name Llan-tilio is an English corruption of Llan-deilo and the Crossenny part from the Latin Crucis and Welsh version of that, the cross being the Cross of King Iddon, the successor to Meurig.

In 550 AD King Iddon asked Teilo, at his Monastery in Llanarth to pray for him, as Saxons were again making raids into the area. Teilo came North, raised a Cross on the pre-Christian mound and King Iddon repelled them.In return, Iddon granted Teilo the mound to build his holy church and monastery (llan)the dedication probably being to St Teilo and the Blessed Virgin Mary as every monastery was in those days. The customary rituals would have gone on, the clearing of the area, forty days of prayer and fasting on the site, then the final dedication of the church and llan. We know the monks and brothers and sisters did a Liturgy of the Hours,much longer than ours today. Later Teilo became Bishop of Llandaff.

Llantilio Crossenny , therefore means the ;Holy Place of Teilo at Iddon's Cross.

The Guide Book to this interesting church tells us that a grant of 3 modil of land(27 acres)was granted by King Iddon to St Teilo in 550 AD which came to the Church at Llandaff and is mentioned in ecclesiastical documents of 1119,1128 and 1291 AD.This was a lot of land and would have included land for animal husbandry and crop growing to support the community. Also the first church would have been made of wood or mud and wattles as we have noticed elsewhere. When the Normans arrived in the eleventh century and set about reorganising the churches, and establishing them as local defence structures and places where weapons could be kept in the face of attacks, espeically by Welsh princes, the buildings were replaced in stone by the 12th or 13 centuries. This is the result below. The staircase leading to the upper tower room has disappeared, leaving the door, quite high up in the Wall.There was a central gothic (early English) tower in the centre , some sixty feet high. It originally had a parapet, as shown by the gargoyles and probably a flat lead roof or one in the form of a low pyramid covered with stone tiles.More details after the pictures below..

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You can probably see from one of the last pictures the tell tale circular feature of the Llan.]

The Chancel

This was rebuilt in the fourteenth century in the 'decorated style' and there is still (see above) the decorated piscina, where the priest poured to earth the washing water of the chalice and patten, used at Mass. In fact, there are various arches on the North wall, leading into what would have been the Lady Chapel according to the guide book, but I would have thought the Lady Chapel, in common wit Catholic practice would have been to the left of the altar, and the right hand chapel holding the Blessed Sacrament, so that Christ, as it were was on the right hand side of God, if you faced the people from the altar and our Lady on the left hand side. I may not be right about this, and perhaps it does not matter but I observe this is usually the case. In Abbey Churches, Lady Chapels are often separate, behind the High Altar.On the South wall is the priests door,and another door gave access to a priests room. In common practice was, that when monks from the priory at Monmouth came occarionally to say Mass they would then be accommodated in this room as happened at Caerwent. The writer of the huide book also mentions the window facing down toards the altar, and it was possibly where a watch was kept on pilgims coming to pray before the relics, presumably of St Teilo-though clearly not his skull which seems to have had its own adventures, and is now once again in Llandaff Cathedral.

Welsh Reverence of Relics

A marked feature of the religious life of the old Cymry is in the respect and reverence given to relics- creiriau

In the relion and in the legal system of the tribe they play an indispensable part. Nawdd y Creiriau is frequently mentioned in old documents-it means the protection afforded to relics.When a beloved person dies it is quite usual for us to keep a remembrance-I kept an old brown jacket and driving license from my father. My house has reminders of him all over. It is a fond remembrance and assurance he is still there. In these early times people felt like that about beloved saints. After many years of their daath, often their bones would be retrieved and a bone placed under a Catholic altar, because in the Book of Revelations the Martyrs poured out at the end of time from under the altar mentioned there. According to teaching, the holiness and holy spirit had permeated every part of the Saint's body and that by praying in its proximity, there would be spiritual benefits of healing or special grace or religious insight or nearness to God, which was what the saint was now enjoying. Of course this was always going to be open to claims of abuse, that people used relics as 'lucky charms' but this was clearly not the case.Gerald the Welshman recalls the reverence of the Welsh for the relics. Swearing on the relics was the regular mode of procedure in the law courts of the tribe (Venedotian Code of Hywel Dda book 2 cap 10)

The litigant had to swear at the church where his sacramental bread and Holy Water shall be 'bara offeren ay dwyfar swyn'

In the Book of Llandaff there are many references to the custom of swearing on the relics of St Teilo. (Liber Landaviensis pp115)

Even at the time of the Annexation of Wales, the repsect paid to relics is illustrated by a letter of Edward I written about 1281 It refers to the relics of St Asaph the pupil of St Kentigern (Mungo) the original founder of the see.The King proposed that the relics be transferred from the Cathedral to Rhuddlan for the sake of safety.There are even stories of communities fighting over relics, for ecample those of st Beuno, uncle of St Winifred.(Gwenfrewi)There are also records of relics being carried into battle as late as Owain Glyndwr.Many relics were smuggled away and hidden during the times of persecution in the 16, 17 centuries and guarded by Guardians.

Easter Sepulchre

This refers to the custom during the Tenebrae.It held a large crucifix for veneration on Good Friday afternoon mass and then this would be placed in a large tomb on the north wall of the chancel or Sanctuary and a vigil kept until the light entered the Chuch at Midnight on Easter Eve. I had photos of a wooden Sepulcher at St Sannon's Church in Bedwellty. Then I noticed one in St Neot;s Church but minus the stone carved chest. I think there would have been one here too. This church was obviously important and linked with the Cathedral-it is also quite large for a country church and I really feel it would have had a stonw chest Easter Sepulchre, bow removed (when Anglicans took it over in the 16th century perhaps. Looking again at the Bedwellty pictures will give you an idea of the kind of carvings and inscriptions which would have been upon it.

Floor Slabs

There are several interesting stone slabs on the floor from various families who lived in the area subsequetly abd worshipped there in late Tudor times.

Ringing Chamber

There are eight bells in all but they are from 1709 and so not Mediaeval. Their frame rests on four large timber supports, all careved from one oak tree.They are sixty feet high and stand on four blocks of stone, one at each corner of the tower. This extra support was put in at the time the bells were put in, and the spire is also a later addition.Original bells came from Gloucester (Adrian Ruddhall)(tenor weighs 10 cwts and 23llbs (520kgs)The White Chapel Bell Foundry of London chipped in in 1978 and another two added. The present tenor weighs 4cwts and 2 qts nd 4 lb (230kgs) and is tuned in D major.

Rood Screen was torn down

Originally the steps leading to the ringing chamber also led to a rood screen, containing a Crucifix and a statue of St Maru and St John.

The Navewould originally in the stone building been in the Early English style and lower than at present.It was raised in the 14th century in a perpendicular style. It was raised on its slender colums when a clerestory was added adding more light higher up. These high arches contrast with the lower, Early English tower arch,

Saxon or Norman FontThis is found in the North aisle. It was rescued from the churchyard in the nineteenth century, probably at the time of the Oxford Movement and brought back into the Church.

Agincourt

The most easterly window on the north wall has glass from Llantilio Court. The leftshows the inscription and coat of arms of Sir David Gam, Knighted by King Henry V, when Sir David was mortally wounded at the Battle of Agincourt.Sir David lived at Hengwrt, a nearby manor demolished in 1459. He is purported to be Shakespeare's Fluellen in Henry V but the dates are says te guide book inconsistent.

The right side of the Window is dedicated to Sir William Herbert, also connected with Llantilio and one of the family of the glorious defenders of the Catholic Faith in future centuries.The original entrance would have been through the south porch and its stoup (next to font) but now the entran e is through a west door

Ladye Chapel

The guide book says the North transept became the Lady Chapel in the fourteenth century, perhaps because during the middle ages, the virgin mother gained greater status and perhaps the smaller chapel was not large enough.At the same time the original window was removed and replaced by the larger perpendicular window, which had four lights. This is now filled with glass by Mrs Morgan Clifford in memory of her husband and son.

Edward V (one of the murdered princes in the tower) or Edward II (1302-27)

ON either side of the altar table in this chapel-in which there is no representation of Mary today,are two corbels or brackets meant to hold statues. They could be of either of the two kings above as the hairstyles are indicative of these periods.

CIL-LLWCHThere is a strong article, which I will deal with in later blogs, by Fred Hndo's visit to this manor and its attick chapel. The family were strong and loyal recusant Catholics and held regular Masses at their house, Cil-llwch Manor, which still esists and is mentioned also in Hansard of 1679 at the Trial of Father David Lewis

Where did Catholics Worship in Monmouthshire/Gwent?This cannot be an exhaustive list but is representative only…..

1.Cil llwch _Killough Manor had a secret chapel-(The Powell Family) Father Andreweswas the priest they kept/ Killough, it is now marked on OS maps with its Welsh spelling.

It lies West of Llantilio Crossenny

Fred Hando describes a Priest hole at Cillwch. llwch referrs to running water, cil is a secret place, (The secluded place by the brook.)

There is a secret (though not very secret in the light of the information today!) chapel in the house where people gathered for Mass. The Vicar of Llantilio Crosseny testified to the House of Commons Enquiry that he had seen Father Thomas Andrews at ‘Killouch’ and had seen him say Mass there.He had also seen Father Thomas at William Davies’ House in Bettws Newydd as well.

The less lucky Faithful went to the church of St Michael at the top of the Skirrid, or Holy Mountain, where they prayed the Rosary or celebrated Mass when there was a priest. The Priest who said Mass here too was Father Andrews, a Jesuit, who did his priestly duties well and managed to escape martyrdom.The burial of Catholics during these terrible times was always distressing, as they had to be buried at the dead of night,though presumably, since they owned the living, the priest buried them in what had originally been their parish church, with the Vicar turning the other way. The Powell family, perhaps including Father Powell were buried in this church.

Green Man

There is a green man in the church symbol of death and Rebirth of Our Lod Jesus, adapted from an earlier figure of pagan worship of death and rebirth.There are two squints allowing the occupants of the Ladye Chapel to see through to the altar for the elevation of the Host before the consecration at Mass. Further testimony to the existance of an Easter Sepulchre.The guide book mentions that there may have been an anchorite in the church as well.

Churchyard

This contains the remains of an ancient preaching cross now carrying a simple wood cross , since the original stone one must hav ebecaome dangerous and was dismantled.This cross is a memorial to those who died in the two world wars.

The Churchyard is also curcular establishing its claim to be an early Christian llan.

When I had gone around the church , I said a Rosary for many intentions and especially for our recusant priests, As I went on I felt colder and colder and was relieved to walk into the open sair as it was sunny outside!

Thursday, November 6, 2008

St Clether was one of the twenty our children of Brychan, along with Finbarr who also worked in Cornwall.This monastery was only a short way away from his sister';s at St Keyne.The hamlet where this was still situated is well worth a visit. The parish church itself was built in Norman times and the Vicarage obviously built after the Church was used by the Anglicans in the 16th century. The ancient well was rebuilt and repaired in Norman times and the well carefully conserved.

Firstly we went to visit the Norman age built church which leads over the fields for half a mile. St Clether is South of Bodmin.We drove up on a windy day, and there was much of interest in the church, which had had a refurbishment recently, and the piscina and stoup had been removed at some time. The area where St Clether had lived and worked among the people , healing, praying and clothing the naked, feeding the hungry was set well apart from the church, which is nearer the small road leading through the village. Clether seems to have established his monastic cell here on the river Inny. It is north of Altarnan, though not accessible through very wet weather as the road floods. It can be reached from the main Bodmin-Liskeard road, however.

The parish church is mediaeval, but very few original features remain and it has more in keeping with the 18th century charming rectory over the road.The Well at St Clether has a chapel, however which is more ancient than the church. It needs money at the moment for repairs, so anything you can send would help. St Clether designed his chapel well, so that the water from the well flowed beneath the altar of the church. At some point he went to live and died at St Cleer (possibly in old age and infirmity) and his relics were put beneath the altar over the running spring.St Clether's Feast Day is on November 4th.

The well would have been sought for healing by many people and as the Normans did not demolish it and put up a church elsewhere, it was probably far more colourful in those early years, with wall paintings and such.Candles are available for lighting at St Clether's well, to ask for St Clether's help in prayer to the Father for healing.

A STRANGE OCCURANCE

The distance to get to the well, clearly marked by oak markers was too great a distance and I sent my husband to photograph the well and chapel. My knee has an injury at the moment. He returned quite excited. He had photographed the well and chapel and had snapped the inside of the chapel the minute he walked in. With his naked eye he could see nothing at all, yet on the digital camera screen he saw a white shape. Now he is sceptical of many things but the white shape, as you can see above was clearly visible, apparently 'fleeing' into the stones. Five seconds later he snapped again and it had gone. If you look carefully, you can see plainly that the window is lower than the white shape. He said he was not afraid, so perhaps the camera recorded an angel guarding the place,we did not know. But it would be great to hear any explanations?

The Well itself is slightly higher than the chuch, through which the spring flows.It was certainly worth a visit and needs repair money so if you have a spare fiver...

Will post more on St Clethers when I have time.

MADELEINE MCCANN

There has been no informatin on here whereabouts, yet I absolutely have a hunch she will be found one day soon and will continue to pray for her and her family.

FACEBOOK

There is a Mary in Monmouth Page on Facebook .

LLANFAIR DISCOED CHURCH

Following the recent blog on this church and its connection to Lady Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury and her son Cardinal Reginald Pole, both martyred for the Faith in Tudor times, I was contacted by some descendants of the Pole Family in Hampshire and we have become friends.They are still Catholic and help with the National Catholic Library in Farnborough. So that has been a blessing for me.

St Keyne was not "a fair lady who went round Cornwall doing good and cast a spell upon a well" as at least one website has written.

She was a Princess of the Christian family of King Brychan Brycheiniog of Brecon and aunt of St Cadoc who often visited her on the way back from Armorica (Northern France) and walked through Cornwall to return to his various monasteries. Keyne is thus closely linked with Gwent, her sister, Gwladys having married the pirate saint Gwynlliw and hence produced St Cadoc, who eventually became King after his father.The names Cadoc and Keyne are found together in a number of places and there is a langattock in sevral places in Cornwall, including Harlyn Bay.Statements in a mediaeval life of St Keyne, together with the names of places which commemorate here give us an idea of her life.She began by leaving Wales, a consecrated Virgin or nun after the manner of St Tecla and St Winifride and first went to the banks of the Severn where she founded a small settlemtn-possibly on the very site of the St Tecla's monastery in the small piece of land between which there are now the two Severn Bridges.She can be traced to Herefordshire and can be traced to Keynsham and she made numerous missionary journeys and is commemerated in St Martin in Looe and at St Keyne itself between Looe and Liskeard.

Her Well is fascinating

This is abut half a mile from the church on the hill, which was probably the site of the original monastery. The well is in fine condition. It has been restored by a local charity and flowing water runs from the spring into the little pool, which has a traditional cover on it, shaped like a small house.It is often adorned with flowers, remembering this fine woman who spread the news of Jesus Christ at a very dark and dangerous time.Because it is a Holy Well, used for baptisms and no doubt a water source as well, it is almost a magical place and a lot of legends have been made up about her. She is said to have been a kind lady wandering round in COrnwall doing good for people and then casting a spell on the waters, that whoever drinks of it, if it is a newly married couple, one will have mastery of the other.A quaint tale, but the truth is so much more amazing.

A Welsh princess from the Holiest family in Wales, descended from the line of Joseph of Arimathea is a consecrated virgin, travelling with a priest and various other religious to dark parts of Cornwall-as in my blog and podcast about St Materiana of Tintagel. She comes to rest in this part of Cornwall and sanctifies her own monastery doing good works of healing and praying the Divine Office, the prayer of the Church. She is visited by a gread Bishop, Saint Cadoc who made seven trips to Rome in the time of seven Popes and created a beautiful community, where love and care was paramount, and of such goodness, that a thousand years after her passing on to the Lord, she is still remembered with a smile, and people still place flowers on her well. She probably lies in the churchyard of the present church, though her relic may have been destroyed at the 'Reformation.' Isn't that a more amazing story. St Keynes Feast Day is on October 8th!

We came upon this prettyplace at the bottom of a hill where she lady's church (though reincarnated in a Norman re-incarnation stood) and almost gasped at it's real atmosphere and beauty. A place of peace and prayer and definately off the beaten track.